Security personnel, police officers, military personnel, and other personnel may carry a number of items on a duty belt. Such items may include a holster for a firearm, a magazine or speedloader pouch for holding extra ammunition for the firearm, and holders for other items such as mace or pepper spray, a baton, handcuffs, a flashlight, a knife, a radio, a cellular phone, or other items useful to such personnel.
Such holders have been made of leather. Leather has been a desirable material because of its durability and appearance. However, leather holders have several disadvantages. For instance, leather is a relatively heavy material, and it may absorb oils or grease causing stains. Even more problematic, leather can be easily contaminated with blood, which in turn is very difficult to remove from the holder. Blood contamination is particularly problematic for police officers who come in contact with injured victims of vehicle accidents and crimes.
To avoid such problems, holders have been made from a variety of synthetic material. One such material is trilaminate including an outer layer, a polyfoam layer, and a liner layer commercially available from Emtex Inc., of Danvers, Mass. These synthetic materials may be washable, durable, and/or lightweight. One type of holder made of such a trilaminate material is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,868 to Beletsky et al. Trilaminate materials of the type used in holsters have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,485,947 and 4,485,948 to Cook. However, some methods of making holders from synthetic materials require large investments in equipment, such as heat molding presses and molds, and labor costs. Some of the holders made according to these methods may include a welt about a perimeter of the holder where pieces of material are connected.
Accordingly, there is a need for a holder that may be worn on a duty belt, that can be manufactured without large equipment and labor costs. There is also a need for a holder that takes less space on a duty belt. There is still yet a need for a holder without a welt about its perimeter.
It would be advantageous to provide a holder or the like of a type disclosed in the present application that provides any one or more of these or other advantageous features. The present holder further relates to various features and combinations of features shown and described in the disclosed embodiments. Other ways in which the objects and features of the disclosed embodiments are accomplished will be described in the following specification or will become apparent to those skilled in the art after they have read this specification. Such other ways are deemed to fall within the scope of the disclosed embodiments if they fall within the scope of the claims which follow.